BEIRUT — Members of the Islamic State group have kidnapped dozens of individuals in a central province and the our bodies of some have been discovered with their throats slit, an opposition conflict monitor and pro-government media reported Friday.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights stated the extremists kidnapped about 40 folks Thursday and killed not less than 15 folks whose our bodies have been found Friday within the central province of Hama. The Observatory stated the lifeless included seven civilians and eight armed tribesmen.

The professional-government Sham FM radio station stated the extremists attacked farmers who have been gathering truffles within the japanese countryside of Hama province. It added that among the kidnapped “have been martyred” whereas contact was misplaced with others.

Regardless of their defeat in Syria in March 2019, the militant group’s sleeper cells nonetheless perform lethal assaults each in Syria and Iraq the place they as soon as declared a “caliphate.”

Final month, IS sleeper cells attacked staff gathering truffles close to the central city of Sukhna, killing not less than 53 folks, principally staff but additionally some Syrian authorities safety forces.

The truffles are a seasonal delicacy that may be offered for a excessive worth. Because the truffle hunters work in massive teams in distant areas, IS militants in earlier years have repeatedly preyed on them, rising from the desert to abduct them, kill some and ransom others for cash.